Amortentia
by borntomakehistory
Summary: AU. Tom Riddle always gets what he wants. Not even Abraxas Malfoy's betrothal to the person he wants could stop him from getting it.
1. cup of tea (1949)

cup of tea: in which tom riddle regularly bewitches a gryffindor pureblood with amortentia... to the point of marriage. au.

* * *

She felt tired.

That was all she could describe the feelings she had right now as she laid on the bed, staring blankly at the plain white ceiling. Her eyes felt heavy, her body felt like it was sore. She knew it wasn't possible because surprisingly, she had a full night's rest last night, and Tom had sent her to go to the nearby spa to loosen up from having to pick up after Cleobis and Calliope every single day, so the exhausted feeling was… almost _unreasonable_.

She wanted to put it as something akin to having woken up on the wrong side of the bed, or one of "those days" where she just wakes up completely tired and worn out, but that was usually after a day's worth of work.

A part of Lucrezia Riddle— _the sensible part of her—_ wanted to find her husband and just… rest and get this over with, but another part of her felt strangely repulsed by Tom. She felt conflicted, but she sucked it up and pushed herself off the bed, trying to ignore the throbbing headache that came with it. Groaning, Lucrezia forced herself towards the kitchen, feeling more and more irritable every step of the way.

She didn't like this feeling one bit. She felt nauseated. Disgusted. Annoyed. She never felt this way before. Her disgust only increased every time she saw something that reminded her of Tom, and she wanted to feel guilty— _she really did—_ but… she didn't.

Honestly she couldn't remember how she got together with Tom. She knew she was a witch, niece of Hogwarts' own Potions professor Horace Slughorn, and that she was betrothed to Abraxas Malfoy. She liked Abraxas to the point of having several dates with him, even if he was self-righteous and biased against Muggle-born wizards, but she liked to believe that he was kinder than most of his family. She couldn't remember how she got entangled into the web that was Tom Marvolo Riddle, but they had been in the same year.

She remembered hazy memories—Abraxas invited her into this private party in the Slytherin common room as his date on their last year. Unsurprisingly, Tom Riddle had been there to supervise as the Head Boy and as a Slytherin prefect. He'd offered her with a pint of butterbeer and chatted with her for the entire night, and the next thing she knew, she'd woken up in her bed in the Gryffindor dormitories with a deep longing for Tom Marvolo Riddle.

The feelings were pleasant that time. She felt like nothing was going wrong in the world. No sense of irritation, of disgust towards her love for Riddle, but… why was she feeling this today? Didn't she love Tom?

The creaking of the wooden floorboards under the weight of her footsteps must've alerted her husband, because the moment she found herself stepping into the kitchen room her husband has already left the kettle he had on the stove and brought her into an intimate hug.

Absent-mindedly, she wondered why the home seemed deserted except for them. Where were the kids?

"Darling," he whispered into her hair, kissing the crown of her head before pressing a kiss on her lips. "I'm making some tea; would you care for some?"

Lucrezia flinched away from his hug, subconsciously pushing him off of her. Her eyes widened in surprise. This… she's never… Her heart raced in her chest as she slowly lifted her gaze towards Tom to gauge his reaction.

Tom's jaw tightened harshly, his handsome face contorting into a deep frown. His eyes looked cold, making her feel like she was a bug ready to be squished. "Why don't you rest a bit?" He murmured after a while, avoiding her gaze as he moved away from her. "I'll fix you a cup. It'll help you loosen up."

She could only nod as Tom headed towards the counter to fix her a cup. She rubbed at her arms furiously, wiped at her lips with the same vigor before she froze, slowly letting her arms fall to her side. _What's happening to me…?_ She wanted to scream at herself, but she also felt strangely satisfied.

She didn't like the conflicting feelings she had. She felt like she was being torn apart— _and to be repulsed by your own husband!_ What kind of wife…!

"Lucrezia?" Tom prodded, turning around to look at her as he settled her cup in a saucer, startling her from her thoughts. Her cheeks flared in embarrassment, lowering her gaze to her feet. _Merlin's beard, I…!_

The smell of jasmine and something sweet wafted in the air, her lips curling into a small, pleased smile. Her husband always made the best tea. She didn't know what he put in it, but she always calmed down every time he made her some.

"I sent the kids to Abraxas', by the way." Tom told her, heading over to hand her her cup. He settled himself in the seat across her, his own cup steaming in his hand. "I figured you needed another day off from the kids considering you went out like a light last night. I think the timing's just right because they've been wanting to see their godfather, too."

"That's good," she said quietly, her hands wrapped around her cup despite the heat, "I suppose Abraxas will call if the twins insist on going home for the day."

She took a sip from her cup. The tea burned her tongue, but the sweet taste was pleasant. It reminded her of all the good things she loved—caramelized apples, parfaits, and strangely the taste of peppermint toothpaste. Strange. Tom never liked peppermint toothpaste.

Lucrezia shook her head, continuing to drink her tea until it was finished. She felt relaxed now, the feeling of irritation and repulsion washing away and replaced with feelings of contentment and desire for the man in front of her.

A warm smile formed on her face, her stomach filled with fluttering butterflies at the pure adoration she had for Tom. "Merlin's beard, Tom," she sighed, setting down the cup to jump in his lap, burying her face in the crook of her neck. "I love you so much, do you know that? You make everything perfect."

Tom smirked, pressing a kiss on her earlobe. "Of course I do," he whispered, pushing back blonde locks away from her face. "Now, let's have a little bit of fun, shall we, Mrs. Riddle? The kids aren't home and…"

Lucrezia giggled, lifting her head so she could place a kiss on her husband's lips. "I think I like that idea of yours, Mr. Riddle."

Tom lifted her in his arms, eliciting a pleased giggle from his wife, and brought her to their shared bedroom. Mentally he made a note to increase the dosage for the amortentia he puts in her morning tea. It seemed like she's begun to have a resistance to the daily dosage of amortentia she ingests that the effects seem to last shorter than it should've been.

He didn't want to wake up one day to find Lucrezia Slughorn up and gone, leaving virtually no trace of her and the kids, after figuring out that she had been bewitched.

Just like his father had.

* * *

author's note (1/7/17): word of warning. this story is completely unedited!

so i uploaded this a couple of days before christmas before i realised that this would be better as a chaptered series of one-shots instead of uploading per piece into different stories. please do note that i will not be uploading them into chronological order (because i wrote several stories and they all have a considerable time skip among them... and that i suck at organising my stories), but i do hope it's understandable. ;;; thank you so much and please review and tell me what you think of the story!


	2. comfort (1947)

chapter summary: "what a surprise," abraxas drawled, raising one white-blond eyebrow, cynicism lacing his tone, but he stepped aside for her anyway. "what are you doing here, mrs. riddle? shouldn't you be in your husband's arms right now?"

* * *

Lucrezia Riddle on the other side of his door at twenty-one o'clock was unexpected, but Abraxas had learned to keep his emotions to himself as the next head of House Malfoy. The young woman smiled lopsidedly, gray eyes misting over, face all red and blotchy. To him, she was still beautiful even at this state, but he couldn't tell her that. He was nothing to her right now. Only a mere friend to her and her husband.

"What a surprise," he drawled, raising one white-blond eyebrow, cynicism lacing his tone, but he stepped aside for her anyway. "What are you doing here, Mrs. Riddle? Shouldn't you be in your husband's arms right now?"

Abraxas didn't miss the reaction Lucrezia had upon hearing the mere mention of "husband." She looked conflicted—afraid, even. He felt bad for her, but he wasn't going to go around messing about with his Lord's wife. He... he was more respectable than that.

"It's cold here," she said shakily, gray eyes darting nervously around the manor. Her behavior was suspicious, to say the least. He raised one white-blond brow, making sure that Lucrezia knew that he didn't believe her one bit.

Lucrezia shook her head, a small sigh escaping her lips, defeated. He couldn't help but notice her shaky hands and swollen eyes. She normally looked pristine and elegant _and beautiful,_ but right now, she looked like a mess. A beautiful mess, but still a mess. He _could_ pass it off because the weather, but the tears pooling in her eyes told him that it wasn't about the weather at all. "Alright. Fine. We... we had a misunderstanding," she said slowly, "May I go in?"

He sighed irritably, opening the door wider. Really, why did he have to open the door for her? Why couldn't he just call one of the house elves to do so? "Alright," he grumbled, stepping aside to let her in, "but I expect you to tell me everything. _Don't leave out any details._ Your husband might go here to ask around for you sometime later. Don't expect me to lie to him."

It was hard to believe that this was the woman who was supposed to be his betrothed. This... nervous wreck standing in front of him. The nervous wringing of her hands and the shaky breathing told him that this wasn't just a misunderstanding between her and her husband, but he didn't want to pry before she's ready to spill.

"Thank you, Abraxas," she whispered, moving forward to give him a brief hug. "You're the best. Any girl would be lucky to marry you." He stumbled back, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her to give her an awkward pat on the back before gently pushing her away.

One time it had been her who was supposed to marry him. His mother has offered Black scions, and, heavens forbid, Greengrass scions for him to marry and keep the Malfoy line pure but they can't seem to replace the empty hole Lucrezia Slughorn had made in his heart after she decided to elope with Tom Marvolo Riddle in their seventh year. Their betrothal was supposed to be purely political, but the woman had forced her way into his heart even without meaning it. Oh how funny life was.

Abraxas led her to the living room, waiting for her to sit down before he could. She sat on the loveseat, subconsciously grabbing one of the throw pillows behind her and hugging it close to her chest. He took a seat on the other side of the sofa, glancing at her cautiously. Lucrezia looked like she was about to break down, but she was quiet.

The grandfather clock in the room ticked incessantly, breaking the silence between them in steady tick tocks, but both of them paid it no heed as they waited for the other to speak.

It was Lucrezia who spoke first. "Tom wants a child," she murmured softly, her voice low and quiet, muffled by the pillow she held closely to her. "I told him I'm not ready for it, but he got angry and called me names."

She sniffled quietly, bringing her head down to press her face on the pillow. "He accused me of being infertile," she said shakily, "and if I weren't, he said I'll most probably produce squibs anyway! I... It's not like I don't want to have children with Tom—I-I really do, I guess, but... I don't know... I just... I didn't feel like having children...? I love kids, but somehow I feel... like I'm not ready? It's weird because I've always wanted to have kids! Is there something wrong with me?" She sighed deeply. "I know you hate listening to drama, but I trust you. You're kind of my best friend, you know?"

Her lips curled into an embarrassed smile, but the adoration for him was there. Abraxas rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the flaring of his cheeks and the butterflies in his stomach and the smile that threatened to form on his lips. Leave it to Lucrezia Riddle to make him feel like a teenage schoolgirl with a crush.

Abraxas scooted over to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her against his chest. He convinced himself that this was purely platonic, and that he didn't feel any sort of warmth in his heart. _You're like a brother to her, Abraxas._ He told himself, ignoring the fuzzy feeling settling in his heart. _You're just comforting her._ "You're both still young, Lucrezia. I'd be pretty surprised if you _did_ have a kid this early."

"Most pureblood families have kids early," she said quietly, shifting in her seat, leaning a little bit closer to him. Abraxas flushed. "My mother had me almost eleven months after her wedding with my father. My brother followed thirteen months after I was born..."

He rolled his eyes, poking her square in the forehead. Really, this woman. Lucrezia snapped her head at up him, eyes wide in surprise, her hands dropping the throw pillow to cover her forehead. "What the heck was that!?"

"Your parents married slightly later in life," he asserted. "Your father was what? 38 years old when he married your mother? Your mother who was 34? Listen, Lucrezia, the point is that you're both still young! You're only 21. You have a lot of things going for you."

Abraxas let his gaze fall to her eyes, looking at her straight on. Lucrezia squirmed, slightly uncomfortable, under his gaze, but she kept her eyes trained on him either way. He cupped her face with his hands, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. Her eyes widened at the action, but Abraxas knew she didn't mind it at all because she leaned in to his touch. He fought back the urge to grin. Merlin, he felt like a giddy teenager.

For a moment, he wanted to damn Tom Riddle to hell if he wasn't already. He didn't want to admit it, but he hated how it only took _a single night_ for his Lord to swoop in and steal his betrothed right under his very nose. It took him years to make Lucrezia see him as her friend, yet it took Riddle _a. single. night._ for her to see him as a lover? _What foul play was at hand here?_

 _Lucrezia was supposed to be his!_ He thought to himself, somehow acknowledging the seed of distress but he shook his head lightly to rid himself of these feelings. He... he didn't want to take advantage of her. He had more dignity than that.

"Don't mind him, Lucrezia," he whispered, "Remember that you could always deny him if he's too much for you. He's your husband, not your father. He shouldn't demand you of such..." His eyes fell to her lips. He wanted to kiss her right now, to take her as his, but... no. He respected her. He respected her too much that he didn't want to tarnish her with his faults. Oh how she tempted him with her beauty—not much purebloods could pride themselves with good-looks. Generations of inbreeding tend to muck up with genetics, yet Lucrezia Riddle... she was as beautiful as any woman can be.

"I'll keep that in mind," Lucrezia breathed out, eyes half-lidded. The tears had dried up, but her eyes remained red and slightly puffy. Abraxas curtly pulled away from her before he could do anything... _sinful_ to her. Lucrezia jumped in her seat, her cheeks flaring. Her hold on the throw pillow was tight, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her eyes shifted its gaze back to the pillow, the tips of her ears red.

Abraxas can hear his heart thumping loudly in his chest, his face warmer than usual. Oh dear Lord, what had he done?

The silence that befell upon them was unbearable. It was probably fifteen minutes before either of them spoke. _Fifteen minutes of bloody awkwardness,_ he thought to himself irritably.

"Thank you, Abraxas," Lucrezia murmured, "You always have this... I don't know... power to calm me down, I guess? I can't bear to think that I might have to share you with another lady soon." She lifted her head now, a cheeky grin on her face. His heart skipped a beat. Merlin, she's so beautiful when she smiles... "I hope I remain the only lady with the right to be comforted by you."

Abraxas chuckled, more of an excuse to distract himself from his attraction towards her than anything else. "Don't worry about it, Lucrezia," he smirked. "I'll make sure you're the only one."

She smiled at him sweetly. "I'll remember that," she said, "Maybe when I get a good night's rest though!" Lucrezia threw the pillow at his face, standing up. It wasn't enough to hurt, but he could feel the force behind it either way. "I'll be in your room! You can sleep on the couch." She turned into a corner and sped away.

He sighed to himself, letting a fond smile settle on his face as he set the pillow next to him. He knew Tom Riddle would go over later tonight to ask for his wife, but for now, he wanted to bask in the exclusivity of her presence in his manor.

Because he knew that by tomorrow morning, they'll be back to the loving couple they usually are, as if nothing had happened.

It was always like that.

* * *

author's note (1/7/17): same with "cup of tea", comfort has been uploaded some few weeks ago, but since "amortentia" is a series, i decided to put them all in one chaptered story! thank you so much for reading, kind souls! please tell me how you feel about the story! is it good? is it bad? or is it just "meh"? peace out for now!


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